Neonatal phencyclidine as a model of sex-biased schizophrenia symptomatology in adolescent mice.
Psychopharmacology October 1, 2023 Ana Carolina Dutra-Tavares, Thainá P Souza, Juliana O Silva et al.
Sex differences in schizophrenia may originate early in life. Mice given phencyclidine (PCP) on postnatal days 7, 9, and 11 showed dose-dependent deficits in open field, social interaction, and prepulse inhibition tests during late adolescence (PN48-50). Males were more susceptible to these behavioral deficits and had reduced GluN1 subunit expression in the frontal cortex at early adolescence (PN30). By late adolescence (PN50), cortical GluN1 was increased in both sexes, while PCP increased cortical and decreased hippocampal PSD-95 in females. The antipsychotic olanzapine failed to mitigate most PCP-evoked alterations and sometimes worsened deficits, suggesting its use during adolescence needs further evaluation.